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Washington The Republican Party is raising money off President Obamas awkward coffee-cup salute.

Youve heard about latte-gate, right? On Tuesday when arriving in Manhattan, Obama exited Marine One with a hot beverage cup in his hand. When the Marine guard at the foot of the stairs saluted the debarking commander-in-chief, the president lifted the cup to his forehead in return. It wasnt a graceful gesture.

Lots of people got upset that the president wasnt showing proper respect to the troops, despite the fact that President Bush once did the same thing when holding his dog Barney. So on Wednesday, the National Republican Senatorial Committee figured they would try to take advantage of this perceived outrage to make some cash.

Theyve created a pop-up web site, Semperlatte.com, that charges Obamas poor salute is indicative of a larger pattern, though it doesnt specify what that larger pattern is.

Put that coffee down! says the big red banner splashed across an Obama salute image on the site.

Why are they doing this? Well, the opportunity presented itself. Why not? Consultants are always saying politics is not bean-bag in a sage manner, though none of them really have any idea what bean-bag is and whether its a symbol of restraint.

Also, they need the money. Heading into the last weeks of the 2014 mid-terms, Democrats have outraised Republicans across the board. GOP strategist Karl Rove wrote last week in The Wall Street Journal that in Senate races Democrats have spent $24 million more than Republicans on TV ads. This disparity might allow Democrat Harry Reid to remain majority leader, Mr. Rove warned.

Republican candidates and groups must step up if they are to substantially reduce that gap, wrote Rove.

Thats what the Semperlatte site represents: The NRSC stepping up and trying to close the gap.

North Carolinas Senate race shows how the Democrats cash advantage is playing out in practice. Through the end of June, Democratic incumbent Sen. Kay Hagan raised four times more money than the GOP candidate, state Rep. Thom Tillis, according to The New York Times. That advantage has probably dwindled since then but Senator Hagan is all but assured to spend more money on the general election than [Rep. Tillis] will, writes Nate Cohn of the Times Upshot data site.

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GOP fundraising off Obama 'latte salute.' Appropriate?